Slovenia urges Israel not to launch attack on Rafah

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - Slovenian Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon spoke by phone Wednesday with her Israeli counterpart Israel Katz on the latest situation in Gaza.

"I urged for #CEASEFIRE_NOW. Expressed hope for hostage deal to be reached & urged not to launch military operation in #Rafah as it would aggravate already dire humanitarian situation," Fajon wrote on X.

During the call, she also said that humanitarian assistance must reach all those in need in the besieged enclave.

Around 1.5 million Palestinians previously displaced by Israel's offensive on Gaza are holed up in Rafah, seeking refuge from hostilities.

Israel's reported plans for an offensive on the city have sounded international alarm bells, with many countries calling for restraint or for the operation to be cancelled.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas, which Tel Aviv said killed nearly 1,200 people.

More than 30,700 Palestinians have since been killed and over 72,000 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.